Dealing with Changing
by Michael Mario
Summary: Being a Half-Esper has its... quirks that can make one feel self-conscious about oneself- and Terra Branford, the only Half-Esper in existence, knows that feeling all too well. Still, with people who love and care about her and accept her for what she is, it hasn't been that bad for Terra in quite a while... even for those 'awkward' moments. Rated T for Mew.
1. Part 1

**Neo Dissidia Romance**

**Dealing with Changing**

**Part 1**

**I'm on a roll today! This is made for fellow Clerra fan anabel the lady shark, who had supported both previous fics with these two and has favorited both (and followed one). She wanted to see more and since I planned on making a sequel to A Valentine's Fantasy anyway, here we go! (speaking of you, anabel, I'd recommend taking a look at The Misadventures of Mike and Mew. It's only one chapter right now, but next one should be coming possibly later today).**

**...This actually isn't what I had intended, but came from an idea for the first chapter of that yet-to-be seen fic and took a life of its own.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"You ready to go?"

"Um….in a minute!" Terra's voice said through the door to her room. Cloud Strife was patiently waiting for her to finish getting ready for their date, though the fact he didn't hear any footsteps or opening of drawers told him there may be complications…

The not-SOLDIER leaned on the wall adjacent to the door, eyes closed and listening attentively to his girlfriend's actions… or lack of them- either way.

'_I'll give her another minute or two- if nothing happens I'm coming in.'_

* * *

Meanwhile, on the other side of the door, Terra stood at the mirror worriedly. She was _far_ from a vain person, but given what she is… sometimes, abnormal changes occurred that needed attention.

This had started with after her first transformation and finally regaining control of herself with her father's Magicite keeping her Esper form in check and giving her the ability to change into it for short bursts…

…Upon regaining her bearings, however, she had found that every single strand of her pale-to-dirty blonde locks on every inch of her body that had follicles had turned a bright emerald green, and her eyes had turned to a deeper shade of purple-no longer appearing even remotely blue like her usual lavender-azul purple- but more like her father's. Though she did eventually find out how to change the former, the latter was out of her control. This had gotten her more than a few odd and dirty looks afterwards and led to her starting to feel more isolated from others than she had before; adding to that much smaller feeling she had before regarding her magic and past as a slave to the Gestahlian Empire. She had endured it well, and stuck as close as possible to her friends to ease those fears yet there was always that tiny little part of her that whispered horrible things into her ear: "You are alone, you are a freak, you are just a destructive monster"- the works. Terra simply kept going, keeping all of this to herself so as not to be a bother to others.

After her Esper heritage was revealed to her kids and she had gained her true courage from understanding her love for the children and finally regaining that emotion she had sought ever since she learn her feelings had been dampened by the Slave Crown, she had further gained enough control of her Esper form that the time she could spend in it without losing her mind was doubled and her father could help her freely alter those aspects of her appearance.

'_But now my father's gone, so I both can't change it or, more importantly, keep my powers locked up till they're really needed…' _Terra bit her tongue as she saw her hair, even her eyebrows, had yet again changed hues. She chewed on a strand, worried about what would happen with her date with Cloud.

'_This isn't the first time he's seen me like this… this also happened that time he and Luneth first saw me go turn into an Esper when I lost control…_ that_ was bad on _ssooo_ many levels regarding where it happened it wasn't funny. But if he sees me like this now… what if he thinks my Esper powers are reaching a high point and I wouldn't be able to hold it back? They're actually sleeping like a kitten (well, their more like a Behemoth) right now- maybe not all that soundly, but still. He wouldn't know that however. I don't want him to have to cancel because of me.'_

'_What if we do go and the people there act… okay, the hair-dye they have in his world _could _provide a cover for the real reason it's green.'_ Terra admitted to herself, her face adopting a sheepish smile on her face when she realized that, _'That wouldn't work if people took a closer look and noted it applied to my eyebrow, but I doubt anyone would pay that much attention.'_

The smile vanished when she considered the worst possible alternative, '_But… what if this is somehow a sign that my Esper form really _will _burst out within me with no input… I doubt it will unless a large-scale burst of pure magic occurs and causes such a spike, but it has happened before because of _him_… but that does happen, that would endanger hundreds of lives, let alone Cloud's…'_ Terra was still certain that it would be unlikely, or at least if that did start to happen she'd be able to get outside and let her strength be but to use fighting the monsters that would be outside of town. Still, she couldn't help but worry and think of ways to change her hair color back to blonde simply to ease her own anxiety.

While Terra was grappling with herself, Cloud had decided he'd waited long enough with hearing anything from her room and came in himself to see what the problem was. He slowly opened the door and poked his spiky blonde-haired through, "Ter…?"

He saw her looking at herself in the mirror and noticed immediately what the problem was, "Your hair…"

"CLOUD!" Terra jumped with a shock, looking at the other blonde- well, she wasn't blonde at the moment, but you get the idea- in surprise, embarrassment and a bit of what appeared to be shame, "I- didn't I tell you to wait?"

"I didn't hear anything coming from your room for a while, so I decided to break in myself…" He took a closer look at her. Her outfit was her usual red dress and tights combination, only the red was of a darker hue, "Would you mind telling me what triggered it? I don't think you lost control very recently since you would have told me in that case."

Terra did smile just a little bit at that, glad to see that he didn't come to the conclusion a little part of her had worried about, "No… I'm actually fine right now on that front- probably since I haven't had to fight in a while… though that can also help at times if I can manage to get a hold of it and transform of my own accord for just a little bit to burn some of the build up off…" The Half-Esper explained, tugging at that strand of hair.

Cloud nodded in understanding, used to his girlfriend's special traits at this point, "That's good... so this is just a random occurrence?"

"Mm-hm…." Terra looked down, "But… I'm worried that this could be a si-"

"Try transforming right now." Cloud bluntly suggested, but upon seeing the confused look in her violet eyes, he knew he needed to explain, "If what you said is true, then if you turn into an Esper now, the less likely it will be for you to lose control later."

The Half-Esper shook her head, "It isn't that simple. On the occasions I do Trance willingly, it's always when there's something to fight against and vent that power with. If I were to do it here…"

The Not-SOLDIER put a supporting hand on her shoulder, "Don't worry about it…. I've fought your other form once-"

"You almost DIED once! Please don't put yourself in unnecessary risk for me!" Terra cried in worry, truly concerned about her first ever boyfriend's safety.

Cloud rolled his eyes, and saw there was only one way to get her to do this for herself…

A small peck on the cheek, and the Half-Esper looked up from her worries in surprise, gazing into the blonde's eyes, "Cloud…"

"I trust you." Cloud said simply, his face as stoic as always but he did seem _very slightly_ flushed by what he just did, _'Geez, Cloud. You've had sex with you childhood friend once after making sure you had protection, but doing something as small as that for this one girl makes a little pink? Really?'_

But seeing Terra give him that special warm smile of hers... it made it feel worthwhile.

"…Thank you…" The young woman whispered, "Just promise me that you won't… freak out or anything when I do it."

Cloud simply shrugged, "I've seen it happen before- I'll be fine…" The Not-SOLDIER silently groaned to himself, knowing how corny this would sound but said it anyway, "No matter what form you're in, or what shape you take… you're still you. If I really saw you as hideous as an Esper, do you really think I'd we'd be in this stuation in the first place?"

Terra didn't say anything at this, but took it as a sign to go ahead, _'I hope you'll still think that…'_ The Half-Esper sat down onto her bed in the back of her room, looking into the mirror. She closed her eyes in concentration and reached down inside of her. The young woman tapped that little compressed nexus of tremendous magical power that constituted her other half she kept caged until needed, and let it peacefully flow free; gently guiding it…

Her clothes tore apart and vanished into thin air as a flash of light signaled the transformations start. Her hair blew back as the lavender-blue magic surrounding her lengthened it and turned it into a light, bright, slightly pinkish lavender. Her skin itself also grew a light coat of fur of the same color as her now mane of hair. Around her hands and growing lighter after they passed her wrists and ending near her elbows as well as her feet and growing lighter as well after passing her and ending near her lower thighs, however, this fur grew slightly thicker and took a light purple hue- with lighter tufts near the end of these sections . This purple also went to the ends of her flowing mane.

She opened her eyes for the first time during these morphing periods and saw her nails grow and sharpen, turning her hands and feet into dangerous yellow claws. Her feet were changing shape, turning more into those of a cat or a dog- the difference being that she kept her five toes- well, claws- on each foot.

She felt her teeth sharpen and become fangs like a dog's and her tongue grow thicker 'hairs' like that of an cat's. For the final touch, she saw her face in the mirror and saw that her eye sockets had narrowed slightly (though they were still the same size); her pupils had shrunk a bit and became more cat-like and glowed like her boyfriend's. Other than that, her face was shaped the same.

After seeing all of this, Terra let a few tears run down her cheeks as she now fully comprehended just what she became when she tranced. She could feel that power inherent in it threaten to overwhelm her senses and make her go into a mindless magical rampage, but was able to withhold it for now. She couldn't stay like this, though.

Seeing her sad like this made Cloud feel guilty for talking her into this. "Are you… okay?" He asked worriedly.

After a few seconds, Terra wiped away the tears from her face and nodded, "Yeah… I just got a little overwhelmed is all. I never paid much attention to the way I look as an Esper beyond a very general description- or at least it's been awhile, so really seeing what I looked like…" She shuddered, "Wasn't the most pleasant experience…"

"Mm… I can't say I know myself, but I'd imagine It would…" The not-SOLDIER commented, eyes closed in thought… but the question he really wanted to ask (and the reason he closed his eyes) eventually passed his lips, "Do you always… well, strip when this happens?"

"Eh?!" Terra awkwardly looked away- blush still evident on her face even with that very light coat lavender fur on it, "I-I… well, yes…" The half-Esper twiddled her claws, "The force rips them apart… as for how they come back, I think it has something to do with the return to my usual human form being based on the way I saw myself prior to turning into an Esper… at least, I think that was what my father said- I was more interested in knowing I wouldn't be nude afterwards…"

The blonde snickered at that, getting a glare and another blush from her, "S-stop that! It isn't funny!"

"Not for you, maybe…" Cloud cleared his throat and apologized, "Sorry about that, but… the way you said that…" Terra lowered her glare at this, accepting his apology. With that, Cloud opened his eyes and turned around, "I'll be outside since I think you might want some privacy. If you need me-"

"Don't!" The Esper called out, motioning towards herself, but still not comfortable enough to face him, "Could you please maybe… stay? It would make me feel more at ease if I had someone at my side for this…"

Not SOLDIER looked up in thought, but decided that not only did he owe it to her to comfort her because he was the one who suggested it, but also because he really did care about his Half-Esper girlfriend's difficulties in dealing with the non-human side of her nature, "….Sure."

He took a seat next to her, and found that while she did seem a bit better with someone around, she still wasn't exactly her usual, more chipper self. "Hey…" He paused for a second; thinking over what he was going to say. He figured that she likely deserved to hear this even if it did sound just a little odd to his lips, "If it makes you feel any better… in your own way, you just as pretty as an Esper as you are as a human."

The Half-Esper looked up and was about to grin before realizing, "Wait, is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"Good thing."

This was all she needed to know before burying her face in his chest. Cloud returned the hug with a tiny grin on his face (that says a lot regarding the stiff). Those claws felt odd, but her fur was as soft as her hair was- so he decided stroking it would get him a similar reaction as when he did so in her human form. It did- but this time she really was purring like a cat, and prompting Terra to sink in further, rubbing her body against his.

Cloud backed away, a bit unnerved by the way she had reacted, _'What the hell…? …Did she seriously just rub up against me like a cat?" _

Terra snapped out of her daze and apologized profusely, looking away in shame, "I-I'm s-s-sorry a-b-bout that! I don't know what got into me…"

The not-SOLDIER nodded hesitantly in understanding, "It's… it's okay… I get it- your body is still human-shaped, but the way you react to certain actions is… different, because of those non-human traits. Let's just keep that in mind from now on…" The blonde paused for a moment, before adding, "Do you feel better, though?"

The lavender-colored Esper woman seemed to still be embarrassed, but did take in his input on the matter, "Right… and yes, I do… thank you."

Not sure if she wanted to change yet while she had the incredibly rare opportunity of being in control of her power outside of battle, she appeared conflicted as to what to do now. Something flashed in her eyes and Terra looked at Cloud with a beckoning look in her gaze.

"What?"

The Half-Esper blushed scarlet, "Could you maybe… do that again?"

The not-SOLDIER shrugged, "If that's what you want…" He went back to next to his Half-Esper girlfriend and started slowly scratching her head, this time she kept herself from making any sort of awkward movements and simply leaned up against him as she normally did in her human form.

Something Cloud had learned about Terra he had noticed hints of from some of her mannerisms he had seen before "A Valentine's Fantasy" and had realized that evening at Narshe was that she was… a cuddler. She seemed to prefer hugs when familiar with someone and often huddled up next to someone during the nights they had spent traveling when they had no tents. He guessed that it was because that, though not exactly a social butterfly and disliked crowds, she hated feeling alone. It must have been hell for her when she was separated from her friends after Kefka destroyed the world as they had known it…

'_Now that I think about it, she essentially said that herself that night."_ The chocobo-haired blonde mused to himself. '_That feeling of isolation she mentioned earlier...'_ It then dawned on him just how important he and all of her friends must be to her.

He looked at the Esper resting in his arms, radiating warmth and purring (he was still getting used to that) contently like a cat. With that in mind, he chose to ignore some of the more reserved parts of his nature just to give her a small peck on the cheek.

Terra opened her eyes, smiling when she saw what he did and decided to return in kind… however, a rarely seen, more mischievous side of her decided to go a bit further… and licked the same spot, giving the blonde a shock.

Cloud blinked, but after hearing her let a small giggle out realized, _'She did that on _purpose_! ...That's a strange sense of humor, but one of which I really have no counter for.'_

'_That felt odd, but it did the trick…'_

"…Just out of curiosity…" Terra asked after a few moments of the awkward silence that the Half-Esper herself brought on, blushing slightly, "But… how did my tongue feel?"

"…Can't you tell?"

She shook her head. She was starting to look like she was getting sick. "I can't really tell everything that's different in my Esper state since I don't feel any different... like it's just-"

"As natural for you as anything is regardless of what form you're in- I get that…." Cloud stood up, but noticed that Terra stayed on the edge of the bed, holding onto her sides in pain, "What's wrong?"

His question was answered in the form of a pained scream as the Half-Esper sparked with the incredibly powerful frantic blood red magic that came when Terra had/was lost/losing control in of her Esper form, "Stop it- stop it- stop IT!

The Not-SOLDIER grabbed her shoulders, "Terra?!"

"I…" She said through now labored breaths, "I… I'm trying to turn back! …But I can't! I don't KNOW!"

Cloud grimaced, and backed away, preparing himself for the worst if necessary.

"I'm… I'm burning- up! …I!"

Terra took the moments of clarity she had left to open the windows and fly away- just until she reached somewhere she could go berserk on some monsters or Manikins until the surge ended…

"…" The not-SOLDIER watched her glide away until she was only a dot in the sky. He looked down, berating himself in his head, _'Damnit! Why did you tell her to do that! You_ know_ there's a reason she never does unless she absolutely needs to in a fight! Why the hell didn't you take her warnings more seriously!'_

"_Because you really thought it would help."_ A high-pitched voice rang in his head. He looked towards the doorway and saw Mew, Luneth, Mike, and Arc (the version from Neo Dissidia: A New World, A New War) watching from the doorway….

* * *

**Read on for Part Two! Special Thanks also go to reviewers Drake Clawfang (whose fic _Shards of Memory_ in this section were of great inspiration to me) and Captain Walrus!**


	2. Part 2

**Neo Dissidia Romance**

**Dealing with Changing**

**Part 2**

**And here we have Part 2! If you wonder which I'd support: Cloti or Clerith... I'm partial to both so long as it's written well and good chemistry is shown! The key to any good romance is slow and gradual development. However, for one-shots like these, that can be bypassed so long as you show things have been leading to it for a while now... in the case of the last two fics of this pairing, a much bigger work will constitiute that development...**

* * *

**Back where we left off...**

Luneth seemed really pissed at him, but couldn't voice his frustration at his other caretaker when he knew he was just trying to help his step-mother out. Arc stood right next to his big brother, more worried than mad; hoping Terra would be okay.

Mew looked out the window in concentration, having nothing to say to him but had made it clear he/she knew everything since he/she just read his mind.

Michael was also pissed, but ignored this in favor of holding onto the shoulders of both of his 'little brothers', trying to calm the red-head down with soothing gestures he had learn from Terra for dealing with the other kids and letting the blonde hold onto him for comfort.

Eventually, however, Mike just sighed and asked for everyone's sake, "Is Ter going to be okay?"

Cloud didn't answer, unsure of what he should do now. The redhead in the room could see what was on his mind and reluctantly assured him, "…Don't…" He grimaced, "Don't blame yourself…"

"_Yeah… let us blame you!"_ The punk pain got an uppercut from Luneth in response, who walked up to the older blonde with Mike and Arc.

Michael put a supporting hand on his shoulder, "At least you made her feel more comfortable in her other body…" Mike looked away at the thought face flushed in embarrassment over what he had seen, "It was… kind of strange, but also rather cute to watch. She did look really happy… the problem being already existent."

"_If you _did_ do anything… wrong, this would go into the rated M section in a heartbeat… and I'd make you tell me _what it was like_. You're girl is unique, to say the least, and it wouldn't-"_

"_MEW!"_ Both Cloud and Mike yelled at him/her. Luneth and Arc (thankfully) were too young to know where he/she was going with it so they only had confusion etched on their faces.

"_What- I was just going to say it wouldn't be bad for her to become acquainted with both sides of herself. Her understanding of what it means to be human is stronger than _anyone_ else's… she just needs to learn how to be an Esper too before she can full embrace what and who she is… the power that comes from _that_ level of self-realization is vast."_

The humans in the room reluctantly agreed with that. _'Another one of his/her deep moments.'_

"The problem is that she has no way of turning back without losing control and potentially hurting someone without Maudin's Magicite." Mike reasoned, "That was what gave her that control before, and while she isn't berserk 24/7 like she was beforehand…"

"It still isn't perfect, I know." Cloud finished for him, eyes closed. He turned towards the other two and opened his glowing orbs, "I'm going to find Terra. We aren't leaving for quite a while anyhow- I just wanted to make sure she was ready for then… "He gave the four a knowing look, "You know how she gets when she gets absorbed in something."

Mew nodded in agreement, _"Yeah, I have an airhead as well."_ He/she leaned into the blonde's ear and whispered (well, Mew talks via telepathy so this was redundant, but the effect is evident, _"Don't tell him, but he's kind of a slow dumbass."_

Luneth looked at his brother, who was now look blankly ahead lost in thought and remembered that one time during their journey when Arc saw a gem in the cave wall while they were fighting Djin and forced him and the others to cover him, _'So do I… though he isn't a dumbass'_

"Says the Pokémon that geeked out when he/she saw what looked like a deactivated Omega and tore it apart to see how it ticked. How long did you spend on that?"

"_10 hours before realizing it was a fake- shut up! Or would you rather I tell blondie here about the time you zoned out in thought while we fought those Darkball Heartless and we had to save your lousy ass!"_

"At least I'm not a Legendary that has sired several Chocobos from Cloud's!"

If Cloud was there right then, he would have been disgusted by this, but he had left after Michael started talking and could see where this was going.

So it was just Luneth there to feel uncomfortable while Arc wondered what they meant as the conversation went to deeper and darker material regarding Mew's history sexual… encounters.

"_I can turn into one- there's nothing wrong with that!"_ The not-SOLDIER heard Mew scream from outside their decently-sized two-story home in Neo Mobliz. He rolled his eyes and departed on his motorcycle, the Fennier….

* * *

A large, burning orb of fire flew into the Behemoth's chest, the resulting explosion incinerating it and blowing apart several of the trees within a mile radius as Terra snarled in victory; the whites of her eyes yellow, her pupils red, and the aura around her still that same chaotic red from earlier. She sensed a bat-like creature whose body is dominated by a single large eye: this variation being the deadly Ahirman.

She growled at it as it shot a beam from its eye, flying out of the way to avoid it. The feral Esper form of the gentle maiden countered with two blasts of two Firaga spells flung from her claws that roasted it with little effort.

Now, however, six Manikins of herself (Phantasmal Girls) teleported in and had her surrounded, attracted by the raw power Terra was exhibiting. With a bloodthirsty snarl, she lifted her arms up and did a small twist, large bolts of lightning surrounding her opponents twice and destroying two of them. While they were staggered by the Thundaga spells, she shattered one's head with a quick slash of her claws and decimated the remaining three by firing a small crescent shaped blade of energy that split into several more; turning the remaining crystal puppets into mere shards.

"Terra!"

The Esper turned around with a Blizzaga spell charged up in her claws before she noticed Cloud walk towards her- bestially growling. The not-SOLDIER wasn't afraid and reached out to take her hand. Her eyes returned to their usual coloration as Terra regained control over herself as the exhaustion from her feral state's unnecessarily excessive use of power took its toll.

She turned back into her usual human form in a flash of blue light (her clothes having returned but her hair still bright green) and fell into her boyfriend's arms with a tired smile, "You didn't have to come find me… but I'm glad you did…"

The blonde carried her bridal style towards the Fennier, "It's nothing... Even if you weren't my girlfriend, I would have done this..." He looked down at her, "I know you'd have done the same if something similar happened."

She nodded, "True… but there's always that certain feeling that accompanies it when you save me…" she let a small chuckle, "Wish that wasn't something I could say. I feel like Princess... Pea…" After this, the Half-Esper passed out, having spent too much strength to continue the conversation.

Cloud kept walking, gently placing her in front of him as he mounted the Fenrir, "Again, you technically have saved me already… if I didn't remember that dream we came up with during the second fight with Sephiroth and finally realized it, I would have fallen and become Sephiroth's puppet…"

As Cloud drove off, he remarked to himself, "If you're Peach, that would make me Mario… and Mike would murder me in cold-blood if I screwed up and disrespected that title…"

* * *

When Cloud got home, he put the Half-Esper on one of the couches in the living room and right next to him, flipping through the channels on the TV for something they could watch after rescheduling their reservation at Ruby's Tavern, "Good thing she's a friend of Zidane…"

He looked at the young woman lying next to him, and stroked her green hair, Terra too out of it to notice the action. Her pretty face had a tranquil calmness to it that kind of made you feel at ease. It looked as though she didn't have a care in the world… _really_ far from the truth, given the large family she took care of, her Esper heritage and powers, psychotic clowns and their allies… pretty full plate there, but sleeping next to him, Terra seemed at ease right now.

Looks like she wasn't a snorer either, which was always good. All he could here outside of the TV was the gentle pace of her breathing.

The not-SOLDIER could hardly be called a romantic (the fact that his face always tends to be neutral supports that), yet, he couldn't help but make such an observation since hit was in private, "Funny… she's capable of looking like both an angel and a beast at the same time… but I guess that makes her my pure-hearted Half-Esper princess…"

He refrained from making another reference he heard from Michael since there was a good chance he would hear it here and poke fun at his sexuality for it (hint: Link and Zelda… mainly Link).

Terra suddenly gave the blonde a kiss, eyes fluttering open as she finished it, "Morn… I mean, good evening, Cloud." She yet out a small yawn (away from his face), stretching her arms out in respect to his personal space.

"Good evening yourself. Good thing you haven't been out too long…"

"Mm, that always disrupts my sleep schedule…" The Esperkin finished waking up and turned towards her boyfriend with a smile, "Good thing you snapped me out of it before I spent TOO much energy, or I would have been out like a light."

"I probably could have fought you like I did in the 13th cycle and you wouldn't have fallen unconscious at all… but I think you would be mad if we trashed your room in the process."

"Good thing you didn't then- I may not have THAT much to my name, but it wouldn't be good to lose whatever I do." She turned towards the TV (she knew how it worked at this point), "What are we going to watch?"

"I was hoping you knew."

"Hrm… maybe Cheaper by the Dozen? It's rather close to home for me- what, with having the 12 kids to tend to."

"How about _The Avengers_?" Tifa interjected, having snuck up on them behind the couch. She took a seat on the other side of Cloud.

"_How about _The Hangover_? I'd imagine Teef has seen plenty of situations like that."_ Mew floated into the scene, having returned from hanging out with 589 (i.e. annoying Squall) for a bit after Cloud left. He hovered next to Tifa, nudging her to a knowing fashion.

Tifa's eye twitched, "I don't serve THAT kind of alcohol… that stuff was spiked with something I would never even CONSIDER putting in on request."

"Eeeeeehhhh- that's not entirely true." Cloud interjected, turning towards the two, "She has done that once: remember those five assholes you-"

Tifa glared at her best friend and ex-boyfriend- at which he kept silent… though not without arousing his new girlfriend curiosity, only for her to get the same treatment.

'_Kain must have taught her to do that."_ They all thought to themselves.

As to Mew's request, Terra shook her head, "I don't think so; that movie made me feel dirty afterwards… I had to take a good shower after that."

"_The Hangover Part 2?"_

The Half Esper cringed, "That was even worse!"

"How about the first few episodes of THIS." Michael came into the room with a box-set depicting a giant of a man with dark skin, bulging muscles, a blonde afro, and a nice pair of shades.

The natives to Neo Dissidia just regarded it with raised eyebrows.

"….Bobobo-bobo-bobobo?" Terra read, "What is…." She looked closer, "What is that orange sun-shaped thing?"

"Don Patch."

"Forget it- we're not watching whatever the hell that is." Cloud firmly rejected, only to be interrupted by another voice-

"What's that?" Arc came into the room- staring attentively at the box. Luneth was right behind hm and took a seat next to Terra, looking on the new conversation in mild interest.

Mike smiled as he excitedly explained, "This, child, is the ultimate animated masterpiece as far as insane humor goes. I've actually met the guy while world hopping and he gave me this… I was hooked by the first episode."

Arc just looked at him blankly. He thought that over for a while, but shook his head, "No… I'll pass." He left to sit on the carpeted floor next to Luneth…. But not before whispering: "Show me later" into his senior's ear. Mike grinned and took a seat near where Mew was floating.

'Suggestions? Anyone?" Cloud asked again, now looking a bit annoyed that the chances of him getting any more alone time with Terra were on hold for today.

"Mama Terra?" said young woman looked behind her and saw little Tina from Neo Dissidia running into the room with some DVDs in her hands. Her mother Katarin and her baby Cid (this time, named in consideration for Celes) as well as Timmy soon followed. Katarin took a seat next to Terra (which Luneth freely offered to her in order to sit next to his brother on the floor) while Timmy sat with Michael.

She bended down to face her with a smile, "Yes, dear?"

"Could we maybe watch… a Disney movie?" She showed off what was in her hand: _The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, _and _The Hunchback of Notre Dame._

Terra considered her options carefully. _The Hunchback_, _Beauty and the Beast, _and _The Little Mermaid_ were among her favorites since she could personally identify which each of them. However, considering what had happened earlier that day…

"Let's play Beauty and the Beast, okay?" She shot Cloud a smile at that, to which he shot a tiny one of his own.

Everyone else came to agree with the decision (Mew took some convincing, though), and the movie began.

Terra and Cloud did have a resemblance to Belle and the Beast- Terra's heart being like that of Belle's yet body that of both hers and the Beast's. Cloud, meanwhile, had a heart that, while kind, could be a bit more similar to that of the transformed prince; with darkness flowing below the surface. Yet they cared for each other in spite of all this; the two former puppets made each other better…

* * *

**It feels good to have all of these chapters released today after so much work on them! I feel more free now...**

**And no, Mike probably wouldn't kill Cloud over that disrespecting Mario... _I_, however, _would_ (look at my ####ing pen name- does it sound like the name of someone who doesn't like series?!).**

**Be sure to review! As usual, criticism is always appreciated so long as it is constructive!**


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